Sacred Valley of the Incas 1 day
What to expect and see:
Rejoice at Sacred Valley scenery, see Inca architecture in Pisac archaeologiccal site and look at handcrafts at Pisac Market.
Visit Ollantaytambo archaeological site and its amazing Inca stonework, discover ancient village of Chinchero
Information:
Wrap under brown and grassy imposing foothills´skirts, Urubamba river Valley, known as "Valle Sagrado" (Sacred Valley), is composed by smaller rivers, gorges and smaller valleys.
At the Andes Mountains heart, in Sacred Valley´s land, Incas cultivated maize, fruits and vegetables.
Curvy roads take you to captivating landscapes, small colonial villages with colorful farmers´, weavers´ and potters´ markets.
History is alive in every old town corner with picturesque streets, plazas and valleys, amazing Inca architecture, engineerings and stonework with aqueducts, irrigation canals and dikes.
Sacred Valley includes terracing and sacred centers to worship “Pachamama” (Mother earth) and the “Apus” (spirits of the mountains).
Potatoes, corn, amaranth, quinoa, barley, wheat, beans and fruits like apples, peaches, plums, pears, cherries, strawberries, elderberries, goldberries and avocados are grown here.
Condors, hawks, Andean gulls , mountain caracaras, sparrows, ducks, siskins, doves, thrushes, goldfinches and humming-bird are native.
Its regional fauna includes deer, Andean rabbits “vizcacha”, chinchilla, skunks, foxes, pumas . There are trout and catfish in the river.
Pisac is 18 miles NE Cusco in Sacred Valley, irrigated by river “Willcamayu,” Vilcanota or Urubamba, sacred to the Incas.
Pisac colonial village was ordered by Viceroy Toledo in XVI AD, as “reduction” for the natives.
Ollantaytambo still inhabited Inca town and archaeological site is some 60 kilometers
northwest of the city of Cusco, at 2,792 meters (9,160 feet) above sea level.
Ollantaytambo, during Inca times was Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui royal estate. He built sumptuous constructions and undertook extensive works of terracing and irrigation.
During Peru Spanish conquest, Ollantaytambo served as Inca leader Manco Inca Yupanqui stronghold and resistance against Spaniards.
Ollantaytambo town provided lodging for Inca nobility while terraces were farmed by yanaconas (emperor retainers)
In 1536, in Mascabamba, near Ollantaytambo, Spaniards were defeated by Manco Inca by blocking their advance from high terraces and flooding plains.
Despite Manco Inca victory, however, he did not consider his position tenable so during following year he withdrew to Vilcabamba heavily forested site.
In 1540, Ollantaytambo native population was assigned "encomienda" to Hernando Pizarro.
In XIX AD., foreign explorers like Clements Markham, Ephraim Squier, Charles Wiener and Ernst Middendorf attracted their attention to Ollantaytambo and published accounts of their findings.
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MAX Group
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Sacred Valley of the Incas 1 day
Program Itinerary
7:15 to 7:25 am. Picking up time to start tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
- | Depart to Urubamba Valley by motor coach, see the impressive Andean Range landscapes.![]() |
- | Visit Pisac Ruins at the Archaeological Site |
- | Visit Pisac handcraft Market |
- | Then we will continue our tour towards Urubamba town city where we will stop to have lunch. |
- | After lunch, we will go to Ollantaytambo, an Inca religious, political and agricultural center. Ollantaytambo keeps the original Inca layout of a town |
- | Then we will return to Cusco City through Chinchero, a farming village dedicated to the production of potatoes and magnificent textiles.![]() |
6:30 am Arrival in Cusco city and drop at the hotel
Customize your trip with us!
Exotic Max
by
MAX Group
Ask for our hotel rates and special group rates